


turn off the light

by slugmutt



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mild Smut, Prompt Fic, Roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 15:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9498056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slugmutt/pseuds/slugmutt
Summary: In which Jyn and Cassian share a room, Bodhi takes bets, and Draven buys a plant.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic in response to a prompt from Priya. I'll share the prompt at the end to avoid spoilers.

It all starts when Bodhi walks into his spaceship one morning and trips over Jyn.

"Were you sleeping here?" he asks, kneeling to pick up the tools he had been carrying. He sees her scowl and adds, "Not that I'm not always happy to see you."

Jyn rubs her head where a wrench hit it a second earlier. She doesn't answer.

"Seriously," Bodhi says, looking concerned. "Is everything OK? Is Shava giving you trouble?"

Jyn doubts that Shava, her roomate, has ever given anyone trouble in her life. She is the most genuinely sweet-tempered person Jyn has ever met.

She’s so kind, that she hasn't said a word about Jyn waking her up in the middle of the night with her screams five nights in a row. But Jyn knows it's not easy for her. Knows that the young medic is suffering, even if she's too nice to say so.

It's bad enough that Jyn's not entirely sure, most days, that she's actually doing something of use for the Rebellion. She doesn't need to be actively making things worse.

She doesn't tell Bodhi any of this. Instead, she just says "Shava's fine. Everything's fine."

Bodhi notes her tone and wisely chooses to drop the subject.

 

Or so Jyn thinks. Until four days later, when they're all sitting around talking about the upcoming mission to Kessel, and Bodhi suddenly says, "Jyn, you look tired. Are you still not sleeping in your room?"

Jyn glares. _Traitor_. But it's too late. Cassian is already giving her that worried look he gets.

"You're having trouble sleeping?" he asks.

"It's fine. I'm fine," she practically growls.

He still stops her, later, on her way out the door. "Really, is everything OK with your quarters?" he asks.

She wants to say yes, but he's looking straight into her eyes, and - that's not fair. He knows she can't lie to him when he looks at her like that.

She sighs. "It's nothing. Just - I don't always sleep so soundly."

She can tell from the look on his face that he knows what she means. He doesn't pity her, though. That's one of the things she likes about Cassian; he never pities her.

“You could move to different quarters,” he says.

“So then someone else suffers,” she points out. “What would be the point?” There’s no room to spare on base, wherever she goes she’ll have at least one roommate.

"The truth is, I've been thinking of getting a new room," he tells her.

She's surprised. "Too crowded?" she guesses. Cassian agreed to share a room with both Bodhi and another pilot, a friendly Alderaniaan named Kes. The room is barely big enough for two; it can't be comfortable.

He shakes his head. "No, it's... " he looks to both sides, leans closer. "Bodhi and Kes."

"Don't they get along?"

"No. Yes. They get along really well." At her blank look, he adds, "Really, really well."

"What do you... oh!" Jyn smiles. It's about time something good happened to Bodhi.

"They haven't said anything," Cassian tells her. "I think they still think I don't know."

“So who will you move in with?" she asks.

He hesitates. "Well. I know this might… feel free to say no. But - I need a new room, you need a new room."

She doesn't understand.

"We could share a room," he says.

It takes a minute for the offer to sink in. And then –

“I don’t think that will work,” Jyn says reluctantly.

She likes Cassian. Likes working with him, likes training with him, likes just sitting quietly side by side during their rare hours of rest. But living together might be too much.

Things were strange between them for a while after Scarif. It took a few weeks for them to settle into the pattern they’re in now. Jyn likes where they are now. The last thing she wants to do is to risk making things strange again.

*

But she can't stop thinking about the idea over the upcoming days. Maybe it wouldn't have to be weird. They’ve been friends for a while now, surely they can talk through any problems that come up.

And OK, so she thinks Cassian is attractive. Very attractive. But - that's just objective fact. Plenty of people think Cassian is attractive. It doesn't have to mean anything. They manage to work together just fine.

And it would be nice, not being afraid to fall asleep. Knowing that if she screams – when she screams – she won’t be disturbing someone who would otherwise have been sleeping soundly. Being on equal footing; equally traumatized, equally tired.

Six days after they talk she wakes up at 3 am, screaming, thinking she’s still on Scarif. Shava is awake, shaking her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Jyn sees her roommate's face,the dark circles under her eyes, and her decision is made.

She leaves the room ten minutes later, telling Shava she just needs to take a walk and clear her head. Instead, she goes straight to Cassian’s quarters. He responds immediately to her quiet knock on the door.

“I’m in,” she tells him. “Find us a room.”

*

It’s surprisingly easy, sharing a room with Cassian. Jyn’s not quite as naturally organized as he is, but it’s not like she has any belongings to make a mess with, so there’s no problem there. Most days they’re working together, so neither of them has to worry about coming and going at odd hours.

Sleeping is easier, too. Not that the nightmares stop. Jyn still wakes up screaming half the time. But with Cassian there, she gets back to sleep a lot faster. Shava always tried to calm her down, but – Cassian’s presence calms her down like nobody else’s could. Nobody else was at her side when the Alliance almost threw away everything they’d worked for. Nobody else scaled a twenty-meter wall of data drives with eight broken bones, just to save her life.

She trusts him. Even when she’s only half-awake she trusts him, knows that she can relax back into sleep with him at her side.

And like she thought, they’re not so different. She’s not the only one with nightmares. Sometimes it’s him waking them both up; her holding his hand until his breathing returns to normal.

The one part that isn’t easy is dealing with the responses.

Jyn knows it’s unusual for a man and woman to room together if they aren’t _together_ -together. Unheard of, even. But still, people could at least ask.

She doesn’t even realize what’s happening at first. Bodhi gives them a warm blanket. That’s nice of him, she thinks – he must have noticed that Cassian suffers from the cold more than most. (Not that the blanket helps, since Cassian insists Jyn take it.) Chirrut gives them a talisman to ward off evil dreams, which she’s sure is something they could all use. They also get a towel, a small rug, and a jagged-edged knife; presents from people Cassian knows, which he brings back to the room without saying a word.

Jyn was just thinking she needed a new knife.

It isn’t until she gets a gift from Princess Leia herself that she realizes what’s going on. The Princess corners her after a debriefing and gives her a small, beautiful painting of a wind-swept sea.

“One of the coastlines of Alderaan,” she explains. “It’s for you and Captain Andor.” Jyn is about to protest, but Leia continues, “I’m so glad you two found each other.” Her eyes are teary as she adds, “It gives me hope, you know? Seeing that love goes on, even in the face of loss.”

*

“They think we’re together,” she bursts out, when Cassian comes in the door. “That’s why people are giving us presents. They think that us sharing a room means we’re, you know. Together,” she finishes lamely.

Cassian’s face is carefully neutral. “I suppose it’s an easy mistake to make,” he says.

Jyn frowns. “It’s foolish and close-minded to assume that a man and woman must be a couple, just because they share quarters,” she says.

Cassian doesn’t argue. Instead, he looks at the picture. “What’s this?” he asks.

“From Princess Leia,” she explains. “Who thinks that we’re a couple.”

He glances at her. “So did you tell her the truth?”

“She said that we gave her hope,” Jyn answers. “So, no. I didn’t tell her the truth.”

Cassian just nods. Nobody could take hope away from Princess Leia.

She does clear things up with Bodhi and Chirrut, though. Bodhi’s a bit surprised, but then he just nods and says that this is “an opportunity,” whatever that means.

Chirrut just smiles that mysterious smile of his, like he knows something she doesn’t.

*

Jyn’s sure that the present from Princess Leia is the strangest thing that will happen thanks to their new living arrangement.

And then Draven gives them a plant.

It happens like this: their mission to Kashyyyk is successful beyond what anyone had hoped, and they come back with not only the Wookie allies they’d gone in for, but with a battleship. A fully functional battleship. They’re all smiling as they return to base, and even Draven smiles when he sees what they’ve brought.

A few hours later, he finds Jyn in the hallway, as she’s heading back to her quarters to rest. “Sergeant Erso,” he greets her. “I have something for you.” He holds out a hand, with something in it.

Jyn has to blink a few times before she accepts that yes, this is really happening. Draven is giving her a flower. A potted, spikey, purple flower.

“It is a desert lily native to Tatooine,” he tells her. “I, ah, thought it might be something you and Captain Andor would enjoy.”

There are about twenty things Jyn would like to say to Draven right now, all of which would get her demoted for insubordination. Starting with, “If you weren’t such a shortsighted, vindictive asshole, my father might still be alive,” which is what she always wants to say to him. Also including, “We got you a battleship, and you got us a kriffing _plant_??”

But she manages to say nothing. Draven pauses for an awkward moment before apparently realizing that silence is the best he can hope for from her, then gives a sharp salute and walks off.

Jyn can’t wait to tell Cassian about the bizarre encounter. He may not share her opinion on Draven, but he’ll appreciate the effort she put into not punching him.

Cassian isn’t in their room. Jyn’s not worried, she’ll see him later, at the party. (Nobody has formally declared that there will be a party, but – it’s the rebellion. There was a victory, therefore, there will be a drunken celebration. It’s a given.)


	2. Chapter 2

There is, indeed, a drunken celebration. Jyn wakes up later than she had planned and by the time she gets there, the party is in full swing. As part of the team that pulled off the operation, she’s swarmed by people pounding her on the back and buying her drinks. She manages to say hello to Baze and Chirrut, who, like her, are in the center of things. As usual, Chirrut is having a great time, while Baze seems to hate the attention even more than she does.

Bodhi is not only getting drinks, he’s getting money. “Taking bets,” is all he has time to tell Jyn before Kes drags him off to dance.

Jyn’s looking for Cassian. He has a knack for staying off to the side, for avoiding attention even at a party that’s all about him.

Sure enough, she sees him in a corner, quietly drinking a glass of rum. But he’s not alone. He’s next to one of the new recruits, a pretty blonde girl named Alaya who’s been assigned to intelligence. To one of Cassian’s units.

It doesn’t look like they’re talking about work, though. Alaya is so close to Cassian that she’s practically sitting in his lap, and she’s giggling as she listens to whatever it is he’s saying. When he finishes, Jyn sees her tip her head back and laugh, her hand going to Cassian’s arm.

Something twists in her stomach.

Jyn’s not jealous. It’s not like she and Cassian are actually together. So obviously there’s no reason for her to be jealous. Which she isn’t.

No, she’s just annoyed with Alaya. Sure, there’s no reason for her to be jealous, but – Alaya doesn’t know that. For all she knows, Jyn is in love with Cassian, just like everyone else on base seems to assume.

Even Draven thinks Jyn is in love with Cassian, and Draven is about as aware of human emotions as Kaytoo.

She spends the next hour not looking at Cassian. She tells a group of new infantry recruits about the mission, and doesn’t look at Cassian. She listens to Baze talk about everything that’s wrong with the Rebellion’s blasters, and doesn’t look at Cassian. She lets Chirrut use her in a drunken demonstration of hand-to-hand combat, and doesn’t look at Cassian.

And then she cuts through the dance floor on her way to get another drink, and nearly runs into him and Alaya. Dancing. Together. She excuses herself quickly and hurries off to where the engineering officers are demolishing the last of the Corellian rum.

Her stomach is hurting again. Maybe she’s coming down with something.

She gets her drink and turns to see Cassian walking toward her, and she knows what’s about to happen.

He and Alaya are clearly hitting it off. Alaya is a recruit, so she’ll be sharing her room with at least another four people. So if they want privacy, that will mean him asking Jyn to find somewhere else to sleep.

Which – she’s fine with that. She’s not jealous at all. But she really, really doesn’t want to have this conversation with him right now. Because… she’s sure there’s a good reason why not; it will come to her later.

So she leaves. She wasn’t feeling good, anyway. Cassian will have his privacy, just – they don’t need to talk about it.

*

He comes to find her. Of course he comes to find her; he always does.

Somehow that, more than anything, is what brings a lump to Jyn’s throat.

“Are you OK?” he asks.

She nods.

“So – want to tell me why you’re in Bodhi’s spaceship, instead of in our room?”

She looks down at her hands. “I thought you’d want privacy,” she says.

“Why?” Jyn looks up at him, and he looks genuinely confused. Huh.

She doesn’t know how to even start explaining, so she just shrugs. He sits in the copilots chair, next to her, and for a few minutes they’re quiet.

He breaks the silence first. “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”

“I’m not mad at you,” she says firmly. He looks her straight in the eyes, which, again – cheating. She lets out an exasperated huff and adds, “Fine. If you must know, I’m mad at Alaya.”

“Mad at Alaya?” He sounds surprised. “Why?”

“Because she was flirting with you,” she says. And then she realizes how _that_ sounds, and adds, “Not that we’re – I mean – you can flirt with whoever you like. But she doesn’t know that! She thinks we’re together.”

“Why would she think we’re together?” he asks, and – does he really not know?

“Cassian,” she sighs. “Everyone thinks we’re together. She should have at least checked, before she starting hitting on you.”

“I thought it was close-minded and foolish to assume that any man and woman who share a room must be together,” he responds. He looks amused, which just makes her angrier.

“Yes, but – it’s not only that!” she defends herself. At his questioning look, she says, “Come on. We’re together all the time. We eat together. We train together. We get drunk and lose to Bodhi at cards together.”

His eyes are watching her closely. “We do those things with Chirrut and Baze too,” he points out.

“Not every day,” she says. Her voice is louder now, and she knows she’s saying too much, but she can’t stop herself. Can’t have him thinking she’s being stupid and petty, because she’s not. She’s right, damn it.

“And – and I bring you lunch, when you get busy with your programming and forget to eat,” she says. “I don’t do that for Bodhi when he gets wrapped up in tinkering with his ship. I don’t help Baze change his bandages. I don’t spend my leave on base so that I can help Chirrut with his work. I don’t do that for anyone, except you.”

She looks at him, and he’s grinning. Which makes her furious.

“You think this is funny?” she half yells. Fine, let him laugh at her. She doesn’t have to stay here and take it. But he moves faster than her, blocks her path before she can storm off. His smile is gone, and his eyes are serious as he tells her, “Wait, Jyn. No, you’re right.”

He takes a step closer, crowding her against the control panel. “She should have noticed,” he tells her, and his voice is low, intense.

“She should have noticed that I give you my jacket when you’re cold,” he says. He takes another two steps forward, and now Jyn is back against the wall. “I don’t do that for anyone else.”

“She should have noticed that I never have a problem following orders, except when it comes to you,” he continues, and Jyn is pretty sure they’re not talking about Alaya anymore.

His hands come to rest beside her head, caging her in. “She should have noticed that you make me smile,” he says. His eyes are burning into hers.

And then he’s kissing her, and it’s warm and rough and everything that Jyn hasn’t been letting herself admit she wanted. Their mouths meet again and again. His stubble brushes against her fingers as she moves her hands across his face, through his hair. Kissing him makes her feel drunk, makes her feel like she’s flying, makes her feel like she’s home.

She wraps a leg around his waist, needing him closer. The movement pulls his hips into hers, and it’s like flipping a switch. Suddenly their movements are frantic, and she’s pulling off his shirt and he’s moaning into her mouth as she rocks against him, and she needs _more_.

But then he pulls away. Jyn lets out an involuntary whimper, and feels his body respond.

“We, um,” he says. Swallows. “We probably shouldn’t have sex in Bodhi’s spaceship.”

Jyn really, _really_ isn’t in the mood to hear reasons why they should stop, but – he has a point.

She looks at him from under her lashes. “We have a room,” she says, and he grins.

*

Jyn wants to keep the change in her and Cassian’s relationship a secret for a while. She feels a bit bad, not telling the rest of the team that they’re together now, when the rest of the base already assumes they are. But – it’s so new. They’re still getting used to the change themselves.

The problem is, to really keep it a secret she’d have to keep her hands off of Cassian when they aren’t in their room. And that’s just asking for too much.

Still, they manage to keep it under wraps for a month. Then Bodhi walks in on them kissing in a storage closet.

“We, umm… “ Jyn struggles to come up with an excuse, and fails. This is exactly what it looks like.

Bodhi’s gaze flits back and forth between them. “How long?” he demands.

Jyn tries to think of a nice way to explain this, so that he won’t feel like they don’t trust him. Cassian spares her the trouble by answering first. “Four weeks,” he says bluntly.

A grin spreads across Bodhi’s face. “Sooo… since the party after Kashyyyk?” At Cassian’s affirming nod, he jumps and pumps a fist in the air. “Yes!!! I knew it!”

Cassian looks as confused as Jyn is. “You knew?” he asks. “How?”

“I’d love to stay and talk about it, but I have some dealings to conduct,” Bodhi says. With that, he walks off down the hall, leaving Jyn and Cassian to straighten their collars and fix their hair.

Later, in the mess hall, Jyn sees Bodhi pass something to Alaya, who grins at him. “What was that about?” she asks when he joins them at their table.

“We, ahh. We had some business together,” is all he says.

Kes starts to speak, but Bodhi covers his mouth before he can get a word out. “Private business,” he says, giving Kes a look.

Jyn knows he must be up to something, but – Cassian is trailing his fingers up her thigh under the table, and it’s kind of hard to care about anything else right now.

He leans close to her, and his lips brush against her ear as he whispers, “Meet me in the room in twenty minutes. Tell Baze you have a meeting.”

His fingers stray a little higher, and – twenty minutes sounds like a long time. But Jyn just smiles, and whispers back, “See you there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the prompt was this: "Could you write a fic where Cassian and Jyn have to share a room due to space limitations on base? People start giving them housewarming gifts and Cassian totally pretends to be ignorant about it all (seriously, his crush on Jyn is like the Rebellion's worst kept secret). Jyn thinks it's totally inappropriate for that pretty intelligence recruit to flirt with Cassian. You know, because they're getting joint housewarming gifts (Draven even got them a plant!) so clearly the overly pretty young thing should assume the same as the rest of the base! Bodhi's taking bets and planning on getting rich."


End file.
